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Corn Growers praise Senate action on disaster assistance
(Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2002 -- CropChoice news) --Keith Dittrich, president of the American Corn
Growers Association (ACGA) and a corn farmer from Tilden Neb., today praised
leadership in the United States Senate passage of emergency legislation for
farmers and ranchers hard hit by natural disaster both in the 2001 and 2002
crop years.
"We have taken an important step forward in providing essential relief to
drought stricken farm families," said Dittrich. "We must now convince the
House of Representatives and President Bush to support this extremely important
measure."
The Senate accepted the bipartisan drought disaster amendment by a vote of
79 to 16. Offered last week by Senate Majority Leader Daschle, D-S.D., and
Senators Johnson, D-S.D., Burns, R-Mont., Baucus, D-Mont. and others, the
measure is nearly identical to legislation that has passed the Senate twice,
first last November in economic stimulus legislation and, second, earlier this
year in the Farm Bill, but was opposed on both occasions by the Administration
and blocked by the House Republican leadership. The prospects for adoption of
this proposal remain uncertain because President Bush continues to insist
that the drought does not warrant emergency assistance.
"I hope that the House of Representatives and the President fully recognize
the scope of this disaster for agriculture," said Dittrich. "Recalling past
historic droughts, an old timer stated that the dirty thirties wouldn't have
been so bad if it hadn't been for the twenties, which was a long period of
economic hardship for family farmers. Similarly, in these times, farmers have
suffered through some of the worst economic conditions due to low market
prices. This drought couldn't have come at a worse time."
Last month, Dittrich delivered testimony before a Senate panel on the
disaster. That testimony may be found at
http://www.acga.org/news/2002/082002_2.htm
The American Corn Growers Association represents 14,000 members in 35
states. See www.acga.org . | |
